History resonates in “Good Night, and Good Luck”

One element of the red-state vs. blue-state debate is the one over the freedom to disagree. The message from the left side is one of doom and gloom for the United States because this right is being stifled. The message from the right side is that we are at war and any words that disagree with that give aid and comfort to our enemies.

I personally tend to be conservative on most things, but I don’t begrudge the right of another to express his or her views, as long as they respect me for mine. If you think that’s straddling the fence, so be it. I’m willing to bet that most of the people in this country could live with that philosophy.

You wouldn’t know it, however, from the caterwauling on both sides of the political fence. On the left side, there are editorials screeching how 58 million people could be so wrong as to re-elect George W. Bush and his backward ways. On the right side, there are pundits screeching about how everything that is going wrong with this country is the fault of the liberal left.

That’s what makes George Clooney’s “Good Night, and Good Luck,” a docudrama on the clash of wills between Sen. Joseph McCarthy and CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn), so timely in the current political climate. It happened in 1953, but there are some serious parallels to what’s happening now.

In 1953, McCarthy began a political witch-hunt for Communists in positions in the American military and intelligence services. His heavy-handed tactics included outright smear campaigns and lies based on “secret” testimony, which mostly turned out to be hearsay. Ordinary citizens were deprived of their jobs, security clearances, and more because of suspected involvement with Communist organizations.

Murrow picked up the Detroit paper one day and saw a story on an Air Force lieutenant who had been dismissed because his father and sister had suspected Communist associations. The only evidence presented was in a sealed envelope that was never opened at the hearing.

Murrow used that story to build an editorial campaign against McCarthy’s scare tactics. He used McCarthy’s own words and televised speeches against him. And the tide began to turn against McCarthy.

The DVD has little in the way of extras; just a companion piece interviewing cast members and relatives of Murrow and his producer, Fred Friendly (Clooney).

I rate commentary tracks on how well they keep my attention versus watching the film with the subtitles on. This one, featuring Clooney and producer/screenwriter Grant Heslov (who most people will remember as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Arabic computer geek in “True Lies”) isn’t that remarkable. They do offer some insights on Murrow and Friendly, but a lot of it is self-congratulatory stuff that wasn’t that impressive. I lost track of it more than a few times.

This is the only “Best Picture” nominee I’ve seen this year, so I can’t vouch for the other four. But for those who have the wit to see the message, it is clear. History is repeating itself, but Americans don’t seem to be remembering it.